Kelso's Christmas Wish
by RGAP-48
Summary: -COMPLETE- Kelso uncovers a startling secret from his past the day before Christmas. After making a wish that he was never born, he sees what life would be like for his friends if he had never existed. Mostly Kelso with ED and JH on the side.
1. Kelso's Discovery

Kelso's Christmas Wish

  
  


Chapter One

  
  


Author's Note: Okay, I've finally managed to post a second That 70's Show story. I hope you all like it, it's just going to be a shorter Christmas story. It will be like T70S version of it's a wonderful life. And just to let you know, I have never seen Kelso's parents on the show, so I don't know if they are out of character or not.

  


Kelso hurried out the door of his home and began the short walk up to his van. Before he had reached it, he realized he had forgotten his keys inside. He was constantly forgetting things and it wasn't unusual for him to have to make a trip back inside before leaving. He was really excited because the next day would be Christmas and he had always loved Christmas. But who could honestly say that they didn't like Christmas?

He stepped inside, brushing the snowflakes out of his hair, "I should get gloves." he muttered to himself, surveying his already red hands. He reached his bedroom and snatched his keys off his desk and struggled into a pair of gloves. He had never understood why gloves were so hard to put on. He always put his fingers through the wrong holes and it never ceased to annoy him.

He grunted loudly, finally managing to slip his thumb into the appropriate area. He was about to step out the door when he heard his parents loud voices float in from the kitchen. He hadn't realized they were awake. When December 24th rolled around, they usually ended up sleeping the day away. It had just become a routine with them.

Kelso decided to go into the kitchen to say hello, but something about the tense, angry sound in his father's voice stopped him. Their had been a lot of tension in the house for some time now. Kelso thought they would have put their fighting on hold at least until the holidays were over. Obviously that wasn't the case and Kelso stifled a sigh as he listened to his mother snap at his father.

Suddenly, his ears pricked up when he heard his own name mentioned, "Where's Michael? We should all spend the day together." he heard his father say gruffly.

"I'm pretty sure he's already left for the Forman's house." his mother sounded disgusted, "Why would he want to spend the day here when he could be over there with his friends?"

"Some friends," his father commented, "From what I've seen, they don't treat him with the respect he deserves."

"Don't start." his mother warned but Kelso heard his father snort at the words. He continued despite the warning.

"And that Steven Hyde," Kelso was surprised at the amount of hostility in his father's voice, "He's the worst of all of them. Stole Jackie away from him. I wonder what he'd do if he knew it was his half-brother's ex-girlfriend he's screwing now."

"We don't need to go into this again," Kelso's mother sounded tired. Kelso was confused at the words. Why had his dad called Hyde his half-brother? It didn't make sense.

"It seems to run in the Hyde family," his father added, "After all, Bud tried to steal you away from me. He almost succeeded too. After the affair you had with him, you're lucky I'm still married to you. So you had better start treating me better."

"You promised you wouldn't throw that in my face," Kelso's mother responded in an anguished tone, "I am sorry. But you know that Michael loves you like you're his biological father and nothing could ever change that."

Kelso didn't want to hear another word of the conversation they were having. He crept outside and jumped into his van. After driving for about five minutes, he pulled over to the side of the road, breathing hard. This couldn't be happening. He wasn't even his father's child and he was related to one of his best friends. That was harshly gross. He couldn't be related to Hyde, Hyde was too grumpy and not pretty enough to be his half-brother. But Kelso couldn't keep denying it because he knew the truth. His father had known Kelso wasn't his child and had tried to keep it a secret from him. He probably would never have told Kelso, it was just sheer chance that he had found out.

"I hate them." Kelso said to himself viciously, watching as his breaths came out in little white puffs of air, "I will never forgive them for doing this to me." But it was the day before Christmas and Kelso wanted to enjoy the day. He tried to push thoughts of his parents out of his mind as he drove to his friends house.

He thought about his friends, glad he would be spending the day with them. They always managed to put him in a good mood. He loved playing the stupid one in their group and being able to make them laugh. They wouldn't know what to do with an emotional Kelso, so he decided not to tell any of them what he had just discovered.

Kelso could smell the sweet scent of Christmas cookies drifting down the basement stairs from the kitchen and smiled to himself. Mrs. Forman always made the best cookies. Kelso heard a familiar voice from behind him and he turned to face Jackie.

"Hi, Michael." Jackie smiled sweetly at him as they stood in the doorway of the basement.

"Hey, Jackie." Kelso returned the smile easily, his problems fleeing further into the back of his mind. Jackie looked so beautiful, in the red mini-dress with the red and white bow in her hair. Once again, he found himself regretting all the mistakes he had made in their relationship.

"Merry Christmas." she said brightly, wrapping him into a big hug. Kelso heard Fez, Eric and Donna snickering from their seats on the couch.

"Two more victims." Eric's gaze travelled upwards and Jackie and Kelso noticed the mistletoe hanging above their heads.

"I like your American customs," Fez grinned slyly at Donna, "And by the way, Donna, it was a very nice kiss."

"Thanks Fez." Donna rolled her eyes and she, Fez and Eric waited for Kelso and Jackie to make a move.

Jackie giggled as she stepped closer to her ex-boyfriend. Kelso felt his pulse quicken as he leaned down to kiss her on the lips. Finally, their mouths met and Kelso closed his eyes, remembering what a good kisser Jackie was. She was almost as good as he was, making them a very good team when it came to making out.

Kelso heard thumping footsteps coming down the stairs but he ignored them and concentrated on kissing Jackie. They jumped apart guiltily when Hyde broke the silence.

"What do you think you're doing?" he demanded and Jackie stared at her feet, her cheeks flushed from the kiss. It had just been a friendly kiss but would Hyde be able to see that?

"Calm down, Hyde, it was just mistletoe." Donna spoke up, "An old Christmas tradition is nothing to get worked up about."

Hyde ignored Donna and began glaring at Kelso, "You think you can just come in here and win Jackie back when she's with me. Well you're wrong. Leave my girlfriend alone and stop trying to steal her away from me."

"Steven, we've been through this before," Jackie interrupted, "I love you. Kelso means nothing to me."

Kelso took a step back, feeling as though she had just slapped him. Even after everything he had done, he had believed that Jackie still valued him as a friend. He winced and turned away as Jackie and Hyde moved into a passionate kiss. He grimaced and went over to the couch. He plopped down next to Fez, who was deep in conversation with Eric.

"So Santa Claus comes down the chimneys at night when everyone is asleep?" Fez asked Eric, who nodded.

"How's it going, Fez?" Kelso cut in, wanting to talk to someone.

"Fine," Fez said shortly, then turned his attention back to Eric, "And he has eight reindeer? What are their names again?"

Kelso tuned out Eric's recitation of the reindeer's names and moved over to where Donna and Jackie were sitting.

"Donna, you have to dress up really pretty tonight." Jackie was saying to Donna, "The greatest gift you could give Eric is allowing him to see you in pretty clothes for a change."

"You really think so?" Donna said thoughtfully.

"Trust me," Jackie patted her red-haired friend on the shoulder, "Eric would love to see you in a pretty dress at the party tonight." Jackie suddenly noticed Kelso and frowned, "Michael, we're kind of trying to have a girl talk here."

"Sorry." Kelso snapped and began climbing the stairs. Once he got there, he reached for the phone. All his friends were ignoring him, maybe his brother would be a little more open to conversation with him. He could even tell Casey what he overheard their parents talking about. It would be good to get it off his chest.

"Hello?" Casey answered the phone after several rings.

"Hey Casey, it's Michael." Kelso spoke into the phone, "I was wondering if I could come over and talk to you for a little while. It's really important."

"Sure." came Casey's indifferent reply. A few moments later Kelso hung up the phone just as Red and Kitty came into the kitchen.

"Were you trying to steal the cookies?" Kitty asked suspiciously, her eyes boring into Kelso's.

"No, I wasn't." Kelso protested, "I had to call my brother."

"Did you bring the Christmas lights for the tree downstairs?" Red asked Kelso and Kelso realized that he had once again forgotten something at home.

"I forgot them." he admitted sheepishly.

"Way to go, dumbass." Red threw up his hands in frustration, "Now the tree is going to end up looking like a piece of crap. This is just wonderful!"

Kelso, brushed past Eric's parents, not in the mood to hear Red yell at him. He drove all the way to Casey's house and hurried up to the front door. He knocked about seven times, before opening the unlocked door and stepping inside.

He found his brother, sprawled out on his couch, a can of beer in his hand. Cans littered the small, dirty room and Casey was half-asleep.

"Casey!" Kelso yelled angrily and his brother opened one eye. Kelso could not believe his brother had gotten drunk after Kelso had told him he had something important to talk to him about. He couldn't believe everyone in his life was so unreliable, "Why'd you go and get yourself drunk?"

"I'm not drunk," Casey slurred, bringing the beer can to his lips, "It's just a little holiday cheer. Sit down and have one too."

Kelso looked at his brother with unconcealed disgust, before stalking out of the house. He just wanted to get home and forget this day had ever started.

But he was more than a little distracted as he started the drive home. He was about two blocks away from his house, when he almost caused an accident. He had driven into the wrong lane and barely managed to swerve out of the way of the oncoming car in time. Both cars screeched to a stop and Kelso watched as a tall, well-built man got out of the car. A woman with a blonde head of hair came out the passenger's side and Kelso started when he saw that it was Laurie.

"You almost scratched up my car." the man growled, his face now inches from Kelso's, "I'm going to make you pay for that."

"I'm sorry," Kelso said weakly, turning to Laurie for help, "Laurie, don't let him kick my ass. I'm already having a bad day!"

Laurie smirked at her brother's friend before speaking, "Let him go, Travis. He's just a wimpy little girl. He's not worth it."

Travis released Kelso and Kelso sighed with relief, before realizing that Laurie had just totally insulted him. He managed to get home without anymore problems and rushed inside. His mother and father were in the front room and he stifled a groan. They were the last people he wanted to see.

"Michael, we're glad you're home," his mother said with a smile, "We wanted to-"

But Kelso couldn't take it anymore and completely lost it with both of his parents, "I hate you!" he screamed before his mother could finish what she was saying, "I can't believe you lied to me about who my father was! Just stay away from me!"

He raced into his room and slammed the door behind him. After making sure it was locked, he landed on the bed, face down. Kelso buried his face into the pillow and into the soft, material he said, "I wish I had never been born."


	2. Kelso's Angel

Chapter Two

  
  


Author's Note: This is a mild Days of Our Lives crossover, only because Kelso's angel is one of the characters that was recently killed off by the Salem Stalker. And it's also a little AU, so let's just say that Cassie died in the 70's, not in the 21st century.

  
  


Kelso could see the bright light through his closed eyelids. He groaned, not wanting to open his eyes. How long had he been sleeping? He rolled over and threw one of his pillows at the light switch, hoping by some miracle he had managed to hit the switch so that it turned off. He had never had very good aim.

"Who turned on the god damn light?" he grumbled, finally opening his eyes. After a few moments, he was able to adjust to the brilliant white light. He saw a girl standing in front of him and blinked twice, sure he was imagining her. But she was still there after those two blinks and he was so startled, he fell off his bed.

"Hello, Michael." she smiled softly at him.

"How do you know my name?" he sputtered, "I don't even know you. Man, I know I'm attractive but that's no reason to start stalking me!"

She shook her head and eyed him with disdain. That was when Kelso realized there was something unearthly about her. She was dressed in a long, white, glittery gown. She was definitely hot, though. Her hair fell in reddish-brown waves over her shoulders and her eyes were a warm, brown colour. Not to mention he had the nicest body he had seen since Jackie Berkhart. What was weird, was that there was a filmy, white light surrounding her, it was like it was coming from her. Kelso didn't care though, he was too busy undressing her with his eyes.

"I know what you're thinking and stop it." she ordered him in a haughty voice, "You aren't supposed to think about your guardian angel in terms of sex. It's not allowed."

"My guardian angel?" Kelso laughed at the idea, "Do I really have one of those?"

"Yes," she answered immediately, "Everyone does. You had a different guardian angel before, but they got fed up with your stupidity and found someone else to watch over. Since I was so new to heaven, I got stuck with you. It's not that bad though, at least I also get to be my brother's guardian angel too."

"That's a lie," he argued, "I'm too sexy for that to be possible. No angel would ever turn me away. And I NOT stupid!"

"No, you're not. You're hormones are just in overdrive and it's affecting your intelligence," she softened after saying that, "God, I'm starting to sound like Rex. Anyways, I don't mind being your angel because I was in a difficult situation very similar to the one you're in now."

"What was the situation? And who the hell is Rex?" he questioned.

"I came to Salem and everyone thought my twin brother, Rex and I were aliens. Then they found out we were Marlena and Tony's children." she smiled bitterly, "I couldn't have asked for better parents. But Rex did some tests on our DNA and found out that Roman and Kate were our biological parents. It's like with you and finding out that you had a different father all these years."

"Oh," he said dully, remembering the pain he had been feeling before Cassie had appeared. Not even a sexy guardian angel like Cassie could numb that ache inside for long.

She shook her head sadly, "You had a good life, Michael. If only you had stuck around and tried to sort things out with your parents instead of backing out. Now it's too late."

"What do you mean it's too late?" Kelso's voice rose a notch higher than usual, "Can't I still go in there and try to sort it out?"

"Actually, you can't." she responded, "You made a wish. I am here to grant you that wish. And thanks to you making such a stupid wish, I can't even go visit my brother tonight."

"So, I'm dead?" he shrieked, feeling more scared than he had in a long time, "You killed me, didn't you? I thought angels aren't supposed to be allowed to kill people!"

"I didn't kill you," Cassie snapped, "You never existed."

"Um.... what?" Kelso said dumbly, not noticing the disgusted look on Cassie's face.

"You made a wish that you were never born." she reminded him, "Therefore, you no longer exist. You never have."

Kelso opened his mouth to argue, but then he remembered. His parents, Casey, Jackie, Laurie, Hyde............ none of them really seemed to care about him.

"I guess it's better this way." he mumbled not looking at her, "No one really wanted me around anyway."

Cassie took his hand in her own and he felt the ultimate feeling of warmth and lightness from her touch. 

"Come on," she said, "Let's see what life was like with you around."

Suddenly, his bedroom dissolved into nothing. He was then in Forman's basement. He saw himself, making out with Jackie on the couch. He saw Fez, Hyde and Eric all near the couch, talking quietly and throwing little conspiratorial grins in he and Jackie's direction.

"What are they doing?" he asked curiously.

"They're making bets on what day you guys will start fighting." Cassie told him, "Remember? Then you found out about the bet and said you wished you could have gotten in on the bet?"

"Yeah," Kelso pouted slightly at the memory, "They didn't have any right to exclude me."

Cassie rolled her eyes and took his hand again, "Let's go look at something else."

The light flashed so that he couldn't see for a second. Then he was back in a much more dimly lit version of the basement. He saw himself and Laurie cuddling, his own face barely visible in the dim light.

"Kelso, I've been thinking." she told him, running one finger up and down his chest, "I like you a lot and I want to have a relationship with you."

Kelso watched as he hesitated before answering Laurie, "That would be great Laurie, but I've already got one of those with Jackie." before Kelso could watch what happened next, Cassie took his hand and moved him into another scene.

"Hey!" Kelso yelped, infuriated, "Can you slow down please?"

"We don't have much time." Cassie gestured at himself and Donna in the driveway, "Just watch."

Donna's face was streaked with tears. Her words and his words suddenly came out in a big jumble and Kelso couldn't make out what they were saying. But Kelso remembered this night. It was the night he and Donna ran away to California.

Then he was in Donna's bedroom. Eric lay on the bed, a regretful and tired look on his face. He shifted on Donna's bed and Kelso heard him say something.

"You'll be back soon, Donna." he murmured softly, "And once you do, I'll tell you that I love you and that I never want to let you go." Kelso watched as his eyes closed and as he seemed to drift off to sleep.

Cassie reached for his hand again. They were in an almost pitch black room, "Just to let you know, it's now been three days since you left." she whispered. Kelso eyes adjusted to the lack of light and he saw Jackie in the bed. He was surprised to see tears streaming down her pale cheeks. She clutched a stuffed unicorn to her chest and she was rolling around the bed, moaning loudly.

"Michael!" Kelso started when she moaned his own name in a sleepy, tearful voice, "Michael, don't leave me. I love you. I love you......."

"Jackie, I'm so sorry." his own eyes become full with unshed tears. His hand moved down to stroke her arm but he jerked back when his hand went right through her ivory skin.

Jackie's face suddenly faded away and he was back in his own room. Cassie was glaring at him.

"You hurt so many people!" she exclaimed, "You had so much time on Earth to experience life. I spent almost my whole life trapped on some island in a cage. And when I did escape, I made the most of the life I had. You wasted so much time acting like an idiot. And then you go and throw away your life when some people would love to still be on Earth alive." she broke off and Kelso could hear her sobbing.

"Gee, I'm sorry, Cassie." he said, "I didn't mean to upset you." he reached over to hug her.

"It's not your fault." she told him, trying to stop crying, "I just get so emotional sometimes. It wasn't my time to go."

"How did you die?" Kelso asked curiously, tact definitely not one of his strong points.

"I was murdered." she admitted, touching his skin once more, "I can show you."

"Okay." Kelso took a deep breath. Before he knew what was happening, he was standing near a small crowd of people. They were all watching some little kids wack a giant pinata. Suddenly the pinata began dripping with a thick, red substance.

"It looks like the pinata's bleeding." one little girl cried. A chubby man in a pilgrim costume took the bat from the boy and banged on the pinata for a final time. Kelso gasped along with the rest of the people there as a bloody body fell through the pinata. He recognized the bloody, cut up body as Cassie's. He noticed a woman standing nearby with a bloody knife in her hand.

"That's my mom." Cassie seemed to be able to read his thoughts, "She didn't kill me though. I knew who the killer was. I made the mistake of telling them I knew before I could get to the police station. Then they ambushed me and killed me."

"I-I- God!" Kelso exclaimed, not knowing what to say to comfort her. One question kept popping up in his thoughts and he had to ask her.

"What's the worst part of being dead?" he asked.

She just stared at him for a moment, "Besides the fact that it wasn't my time to go, it would have to be that I died a virgin."

"You're kidding!" he stared at her incredulously, feeling even sorrier for her than he had before.

"Nope," she laughed a harsh laugh, "I really wanted to have sex with a guy though. I tried so hard but I just had the worst taste in guys." she suddenly pointed to a man a little older than they were, with dark brown hair and eyes, "See him? That's Lucas Roberts. I almost did it with him."

"You're kidding." Kelso noted the horrified look on Lucas's face as he stared at Cassie's bloody body, "Why didn't you go all the way with him? He's really hot. I mean, for a guy." he added quickly.

"He turned out to be my half-brother." she confessed, watching as the look on Kelso's face turn to disgust, "But Rex walked in on us before we could go all the way. But enough about me. I'm here to deal with you, not give you my life story. I just get really carried away sometimes."

"What's going to happen to me now?" Kelso wondered out loud, looking to Cassie for an answer.

"I'm going to take you back to Point Place." Cassie told him, "I'll show you what life was like for all your friends now that you aren't around. But you probably aren't going to like it." she warned Kelso.

"They can't be any worse off now than they were when I was around." Kelso shot back, extending her hand so she could take it.

"I wouldn't be too sure about that." Cassie said softly as Kelso prepared himself for the sites that he would soon see.


	3. Kelso's Wish

Chapter Three

  
  


Author's Note: Thanks to everyone who reviewed chapter two. Just to let you know, this will end up being five chapters but you don't really need to read chapter five. It's more for people who actually watch Days of our Lives but if you want to read then I'd like you to. Just to let you know, it looks like I reviewed my chapter two of this story but that wasn't me. My friend was over and I got her to review it but she forgot to log out of my account before reviewing. Because as much as I love reviews, I'm not that desperate, lol.

  
  


"Who do you want to go see first?" Cassie asked him.

"I don't know." Kelso returned dumbly, not sure he even wanted to see how much better his friend's lives were without him around.

Cassie ran one hand through her hair impatiently, "Fine. Then I'll just take you to see your dad first."

"Why?" Kelso asked. He could tell Cassie was getting sick of him so he decided to shut up after that.

He blinked and when he opened his eyes, he was in a bar he had never been in before. He looked around and his eyes finally rested on his father. He was sitting hunched over on a bar stool, a mug of beer sitting in front of him. He approached his father and saw him take another drink of his beer. The bartender was staring at him sympathetically.

"Won't your family be upset that you're down here on Christmas Eve?" the bartender asked him.

Kelso's father turned his heavy-lidded gaze to the bartender and laughed bitterly, "What family?" he brought the cup to his lips once more and Kelso focussed on his bare hand. The wedding ring that had been on his finger was gone.

Kelso turned back to Cassie, "What happened to him? Where's my mom?"

"I'll show you." she told him, taking his hand. She took him to the Kelso's home and Kelso saw his mother sitting inside. She was sitting at a large desk in the corner and writing on a piece of paper. There was no Christmas tree or decorations up.

"Ever since you're father left, your mother became a workaholic. Work is all she has now." Cassie informed him.

"But they weren't supposed to divorce!" Kelso felt his chest tighten.

Cassie shook her head, "Your mother might not have Bud's child, but she still had an affair with him. Your father found out through a friend that found out and he walked out on her. If your mother had gotten pregnant with you, she would have confessed to your father what happened and he would have ended up forgiving her. Then he would have raised you like you were his own son. You were the only thing that kept your parents together."

"I don't believe it." Kelso shook his head emphatically, "My not existing was not the reason they divorced. And what about Casey, how did he take them divorcing?" Kelso thought of his older brother and wondered how his life had turned out.

"He didn't." Cassie said softly. Suddenly, they were in a graveyard. The wind was whipping wildly around them but Kelso couldn't feel a thing. He stared straight ahead, at his brother's grave.

"What happened?" Kelso asked hoarsely.

"Your brother was so shaken up over his parents divorcing because of your mother's affair, he ended up on the road to self-destruction. You thought he had a drinking problem but this was much worse. He ended up getting involved with heavy drugs. And he never got together with Donna. So, on the night he was supposed to take Donna to that motel, he overdosed. He's dead, Kelso."

Kelso blinked back tears and tried to think positively, "If Donna never got together with Casey, then she and Eric must have ended up better off. They probably never even broke up."

"They still broke up, they just didn't break up for as long." Cassie countered, "And since you weren't around, Fez and Jackie never became part of the basement gang. It was just Eric, Hyde and Donna. And since Donna and Eric were so wrapped up in each other, they didn't...... treat Hyde very well sometimes. Then, on the night you and Donna were supposed to go to California, they-"

"What are you trying to tell me?" Kelso asked, "Have they gotten married yet? Did they have a kid?"

"Come with me." Kelso closed his eyes and expected to be taken to a new place. Instead, Cassie pulled on his arm and led him to another grave.

"Not Donna too!" Kelso stood dumbstruck at the sight of another familiar name on a tombstone.

"On the night you and Donna were supposed to go to California together, she and Eric were out driving. They got into a horrible car accident and Donna died."

"What about Eric?" Kelso asked.

Cassie sighed and in they ended up in front of a small, run-down house. Kelso looked inside the dingy front window and saw Eric sitting, reading a book. After a minute, he put the book down and wheeled into another room.

"He's paralysed from the waist down." Cassie told him, "He's never going to walk again. He lives in this house with Red now. Red was so upset about this happening to Eric, he spent all his money trying to get Eric's legs fixed. But nothing worked and they had to sell their house because Red had spent so much money."

"This is stupid!" Kelso exclaimed, "They were supposed to be better of without me. Not all of them have shitty lives. I bet Jackie and Hyde are off happy together somewhere."

"I'll show you where they are now," Kelso ended in a small apartment. He watched as Jackie carried a small baby over to a playpen. She kissed the baby on the top of it's head before carefully placing him in the playpen.

"See, I told you!" Kelso said triumphantly, "She and Hyde are happy together!"

"You haven't seen everything yet." Cassie protested gently. After a few minutes of silence, the door to the apartment opened.

"Jackie, I'm home." a voice called and Kelso frowned. That wasn't Hyde's voice.

Jackie hurried over to the tall, dark man and embraced him, "I'm so happy you're back, Chris." her voice seemed to lack enthusiasm.

"Is dinner ready?" Chris asked, turning in the direction of the kitchen.

Jackie's plastered on smile faded, "I've been so busy. It's Christmas Ever and I completely lost track of time. I'll get something ready right now." she tried to walk away, but he grabbed her arm roughly and pulled her back.

He shoved her against the wall, glaring into her eyes, "I just got back from work and I expect dinner to be ready."

"I'm sorry." Jackie said in a small voice, wincing at the sight of one of his clenched fists, "It won't happen again."

"I'll make sure it doesn't." at his words, he slammed one fist into the side of her face and she yelped in pain. The baby started cry and Chris stalked out of the room. Jackie collapsed onto the ground, her shoulders shaking with silent sobs.

"Hyde and Jackie never met. They never went out and Jackie ended up getting pregnant with Chris' child. She had to quit school and they got married. Chris hits her almost every night, he's completely out of control."

"Well, if she's here and Eric's living with Red, then where's Hyde?" Kelso asked in confusion. He wished he could go up and comfort Jackie, but he knew that she wouldn't be able to see him or feel his touch even if he tried.

"Do you really want to know?" Cassie's eyes bore into Kelso's gravely and he felt his heart sink.

"Yes." he took a deep breath and closed his eyes. When he opened them, he was in a dimly lit prison cell. Hyde was stretched out on the cot, his eyes closed. Kelso's mouth dropped open in shock when he saw Hyde in the prison cell. He hadn't known what to expect, but he hadn't expected this.

"Why is he here?" Kelso questioned.

"For murder. Four different murders." Cassie added, "I told you that Donna and Eric weren't very nice to him. He was like a third wheel, they didn't pay very much attention to his feelings. Eric and Donna needed you, Jackie and Fez there to balance things out. Eric didn't even bat an eye when Hyde told him Edna walked out. Hyde had to live in that house all alone. I guess it makes you go crazy after a while. But it gets worse. You knew all of his victims."

Hyde rolled over and clutched his pillow, groaning loudly, "Merry fucking Christmas." he mumbled to himself.

"I don't want to know who he killed." Kelso screamed, finally losing it, "I don't want to know anything else. Just leave me alone!"

"But I have to show you." Cassie took him back to the graveyard they had been in earlier that night. Four graves were lined up next to each other. Kelso couldn't help reading their names.

"Laurie was his first victim. Then Kitty. Then Pam Macy. And you remember how crazy Caroline was stalking Fez? Well, Fez wasn't around to stalk, so she was stalking Hyde. She found out about the murders. Before she could go to the police, Hyde killed her. The police finally managed to track Hyde down. He's never coming out of jail." Cassie sighed unhappily, "I feel so bad for Hyde. He needed Jackie so that he could know that someone really loved him. Because you decided not to exist, he never found her and they're both going to spend the rest of their lives suffering."

"God!" Kelso glared at Cassie, "Why are you showing me all this? You're sick, you know that?"

"I'm showing you this because you need to see it." Cassie responded, gripping his hand tightly in hers, "And there's one more person you need to see. The last person in the basement gang."

"Fez." Kelso said his name slowly and softly, almost under his breath. Cassie brought them into a completely different setting. It was daytime now and the sun was shining brightly. There were olive-skinned people walking around everywhere. He spotted his old friend and flinched. Fez was staggering along the sand. He wore no shirt and his pants were torn and dirty. His shoeless feet were dry and blistered and there were deep, red lines along his back.

"What happened to him?" Kelso watched as Fez went over to pick up a large chunk of wood.

"Well, since Hyde killed Laurie, he couldn't marry her, so he got deported. Then, these people caught him and sold him into one of these places that still has slaves. He has to stay here. The people here beat the slaves when they collapse. They can't rest, they have to keep building this houses with their bare hands.

"That's sick!" Kelso wrinkled his nose in horror, "This is all a joke right? None of this would actually happen if I didn't exist, would it?"

They were back in his bedroom and Cassie smiled sadly at him, "Everything happens for a reason, Kelso. God made you for a reason. Without you, all your friends lives would fall apart. So, are you sure you want to give up on living? Or do you want to give your life another chance?"


	4. Kelso's Decision

Chapter Four

  
  


Author's Note: I decided to make this only four chapters instead of five because I'm really busy working on my two Days of our Lives stories. So I hope you enjoy the final chapter of this and have a great Christmas!

  
  


Kelso stared at Cassie in amazement, "I think you said it was already too late and that I was already dead."

"You were never dead, Kelso." Cassie replied, "I came here to try and get you to change your mind about not wanting to exist. If you were to decide that you didn't want to exist anymore now, it would be over. But God believes in second chances. So, what are you going to do?"

"Damn, do you even have to ask?" Kelso shook his head in amazement, "I want to go back. I want to stay on Earth."

Cassie's eyes were shining with tears but she tried to smile, "I'm glad you did the right thing. Don't ever give up on life, Kelso. As bad as things can get some times, if I had the chance to go back, I would. There were so many things I wanted to do and now I can't."

Kelso opened his mouth to speak but Cassie put a finger to her lips, "Good luck." there was a white flash of light and then Cassie was gone.

Kelso bolted upright in his bed, breathing hard. The sky was now a royal blue colour and he could see Christmas lights shining through his window.

"It was all a dream." he mumbled sleepily, getting out of bed and stretching, "But it couldn't have been." He remembered the Christmas party at Eric's house and jerked alive. He was fully dressed, so he hurried down the hall. His parents were still sitting in the living room but they were watching TV now. Their expressions turned to worried and apprehensive when they saw Kelso.

"Michael, are you okay?" his mother asked him tentatively. Kelso suddenly recalled screaming at them for lying about his father. He decided that he didn't have to be mad about it anymore. Because his dad was his father in every way that mattered.

"I'm fine." he assured her, "I'm sorry for getting so mad about that....... thing earlier. I'm not mad anymore. I think you both did the right thing. But I really have to go now, so I'll see you later tonight."

Before he went out the door, he stopped dead in his tracks, "I have to get the lights." he remembered Red asking about them that morning.

After grabbing the large box, he went out the door to his home, not noticing his mom and dad staring after him with proud smiles on their faces.

"Michael!" Kitty exclaimed when she opened the door to let him in, "Oh, look, you brought the Christmas lights."

"Hey, Mrs. Forman." Kelso dropped the box of lights on the floor, "It's good to see you." without warning, he pulled her into a hug. He was glad that she hadn't been murdered by Hyde.

"Well, it's good to see you so enthusiastic." Kitty patted him on the back, "Now, I think it's time for you to go downstairs with all your friends."

Kelso rushed down the stairs and broke into a smile when he saw all of his friends. Fez was cramming a sugar cookie into his mouth, Eric and Donna were sitting on the couch making out and Jackie and Hyde were talking to Laurie and her date, Travis or whatever his name was. He looked over at Fez and was glad his friend didn't seem upset about Laurie and Travis. Then again, he had probably gotten used to Laurie dating other guys by now.

No one had noticed his presence yet. He decide that first person he wanted to talk to was Hyde.

"Hyde, how's it going?" Hyde turned to Kelso with a vaguely irritated expression on his face.

"I'm fine." Hyde responded tightly and Kelso could see that he was a little angry at Kelso for what had happened earlier that morning.

"Can I talk to you in private for a few minutes?" Kelso asked, "Because it's, like, really important, dude."

"All right." Hyde conceded and the two of them went into the corner of the basement. Kelso cleared his throat, wondering how he was going to tell Hyde that he was his half-brother.

"First, I just wanted to say that I am so sorry for kissing Jackie this morning." Kelso began, "But it was completely innocent, I swear. And I want try to come between you and Jackie anymore because I'd never do that to my own brother."

Hyde blinked twice before replying, "What the hell did you just say?" he asked.

"This might freak you out a little, but we have the same dad. Bud is my dad too and that makes us half-brothers, right?" Kelso asked.

Hyde punched Kelso in the arm angrily, "Don't even joke about something like that, you moron."

"But I'm not joking," Kelso protested, "I heard my parents talking about it. It's the truth."

"You're really serious, aren't you?" Hyde stared hard at Kelso. Kelso nodded slowly, hoping Hyde would believe him. Finally, Hyde shook his head.

"Well that was...... unexpected." Hyde ran a hand through his hair, then lowered his voice conspiratorially, "Why don't we keep this between me and you? None of the rest of the gang has to know."

"That's fine with me." Kelso responded in a carefree tone, "And guess what? I met my guardian angel today!"

"There are no such things as angels." Hyde shot back, a blank look on his face.

"Actually, there are." Kelso smiled at the memory Cassie, "And my guardian angel, well, that is one very sexy angel."

"You're insane, Kelso." Hyde told him, trying not to smile at the dreamy expression on Kelso's face. Kelso seemed to notice something behind him and walked away from Hyde without word.

Hyde turned around to see what Kelso was doing. He looked like he was talking to someone, only there wasn't anyone there. Hyde sighed loudly before going back to Jackie.

"It's just my luck that I end up related to a lunatic." he muttered.

  
  


Donna smiled at Eric happily as he moved one finger along her cheek gently, "You look really beautiful, you know that?" he whispered in her ear.

She giggled a little bit and hugged him tightly, "Thanks. I guess letting Jackie plaster about fifty pounds of make-up on my face was worth it then."

"It really was." Eric agreed, taking another look at the strapless white dress she was wearing. It brought out the red highlights in her hair and grey eyeliner made her eyes seemed bigger than usual.

Eric looked past his girlfriend and started. Kelso was standing in the back, talking to a girl in a white dress. A pale yellow glow seemed to illuminate off her shoulders. She noticed Eric staring at her and gave him a little smile. Eric's mouth dropped open in surprise. Donna saw the look on Eric's face and turned around to see what he was looking at. He could tell that she didn't see the girl with Kelso.

"What's wrong?" Donna asked him, her eyes conveying the concern she was feeling.

Eric decided that she wouldn't believe him if he did tell her, "Nothing." he said quickly, then wrapped his arms around Donna's waist, "I love you."

Donna kissed him on the lips for a few seconds, "And I love you. Merry Christmas, Eric."


End file.
